Former Bush Official: Paul Ryan An “Unfortunate Pick”

Christian Whiton, a former Bush state department official, says Ryan doesn’t have the requisite foreign policy experience, and is “too young.”

“One reason this is a unfortunate pick opinion is that Paul Ryan has a very thin record on foreign affairs, which is a key criteria of course if you’re going to be supporting the man who will be commander-in-chief,” the D.C. International Advisory principal said. “Paul Ryan has said relatively little about foreign affairs and when he has it generally is brought back to his portfolio as head of the finance committee, so he’ll talk about how it’s important for America to thrive economically, to not appear to be in decline…But unfortunately what we don’t have from either the top or bottom of this ticket is a clear message on how these people will see the world and react to world events when they get into the White House if they do.”

Whiton went on to say Ryan doesn’t really compare to former VP Dick Cheney, stating, “If you take Dick Cheney’s criteria for what makes a good vice president, which is someone who can help the president govern, then Paul Ryan unfortunately is not likely to help much with the commander-in-chief role or managing the sprawling national security bureaucracy.”